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Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Ezekiel

Arcane
Joined
May 3, 2017
Messages
5,371
From what I read, the reviewers praise it for bravely tackling underused issues like psychosis and brush over the the fact, that the "gaming parts" are few and in-between (and not very good). Either it's really good at covering the first or most reviewers are afraid of appearing stupid by giving a 2deep4u game bad ratings.
Eh. I don't think they're afraid to appear dumb, I think they just have their priorities mixed up (not prioritizing game design), lack critical judgment and are too easily impressed by this kind of storytelling.

They should probably watch more good movies to put this in perspective, since these kinds of games are trying to blend the two mediums. It's not a good or interesting story.
 

Fedora Master

Arcane
Patron
Edgy
Joined
Jun 28, 2017
Messages
27,804
From what I read, the reviewers praise it for bravely tackling underused issues like psychosis and brush over the the fact, that the "gaming parts" are few and in-between (and not very good). Either it's really good at covering the first or most reviewers are afraid of appearing stupid by giving a 2deep4u game bad ratings.
Eh. I don't think they're afraid to appear dumb, I think they just have their priorities mixed up (not prioritizing game design), lack critical judgment and are too easily impressed by this kind of storytelling.

They should probably watch more good movies to put this in perspective, since these kinds of games are trying to blend the two mediums. It's not a good or interesting story.

Vidya writers are pretentious wannabe dramatists, what else is new?
 

Deflowerer

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2013
Messages
2,052
Ninja Theory has never really gotten the hang of combat. DmC was the closest they ever got to designing 'good' combat, and even then that's because it was basically just a substantially watered-down variant of DMC4's combat with most of the complexity cut out.

Probably because Itsuno of DMC3/4/DD/Power Stone/Project Justice fame came in to rescue the project. Same shit with DMC2, Itsuno tried to fix the shitshow but it was too late by the time he came on board.
 

Quatlo

Arcane
Joined
Nov 15, 2013
Messages
941
Its a shitty nongame walking sim with simplistic combat, awful puke inducing 45 fov (b-b-b-but its on purpose to make you feel claustrophobhic in your head!), retardedly easy and samey puzzles, SLOW as fuck running speed. Everything is loaded into that voices-in-your head gimmick which is pretty cool for first 30 minutes but gets annoying and monotonous after that. Game reuses its bossess as enemies too so dont expect variety.

Avoid at all costs it just plain fucking sucks, watch a youtube letsplay without a commentary for the same experience and save on your powerbill by sparing your GPU by not making it render this really pretty yet empty non-game.
 

Wirdschowerdn

Ph.D. in World Saving
Patron
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
34,458
Location
Clogging the Multiverse with a Crowbar
Finished it. Terrific productions values, breathtaking landscapes and sound design, so-so puzzles, adequate story told via powerful cutscenes and the occasional inner demons, and easy but spectacular combat. It's exactly in line of what I thought a typical Ninja Theory game would deliver. Pretty cool experience overall, but zero replay value.
 

Gepeu

Savant
Patron
Joined
Oct 16, 2016
Messages
986
Ah, I forgot it's an old-school classic role playing game, now in 2017. Future is now.

We need to revitalize the old Skyrim-inspired viking theme.
 

Revenant

Guest
After watching an LP, I expected a reveal at the end of the game that the protagonist was a modern person locked up in an asylum and the whole Norse world was just a schizophrenic delusion, which didn't happen. Also, speaking of the Norse theme, how could the protagonist be Celtic if lore of the game is exclusively Nordic?
 

v1rus

Arcane
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
2,253
After watching an LP, I expected a reveal at the end of the game that the protagonist was a modern person locked up in an asylum and the whole Norse world was just a schizophrenic delusion, which didn't happen. Also, speaking of the Norse theme, how could the protagonist be Celtic if lore of the game is exclusively Nordic?

we wuz nardz
 

Chrio

Novice
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
42
Bought it because I like nordic stuff and the chicks pretty high polygon face, regretted it after around 1 - 2 hours, boring console gameplay and repetitive level design / tasks. Quite shocking how most console players praising this.
 
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
66
Strong initial impression and good/great art direction but yeah, you repeat the same task over and over again and it's mostly a boring corridor. I appreciate the lack of HUD (with a few subtle exceptions), any game that wants to be atmospheric should shed as many HUD elements as possible, ideally all of them. After all, the game is so easy that you don't need it. I just wish there were fewer over-the-top effects smeared across the screen half the time though, it's like the graphics glitch out. But I guess we're craaazy so we see triple. They could have used different levels of picture noise, like SH3 but stronger. But maybe it would have conveyed the wrong sensation (more creepy than drunk psychotic). For all I know they did, there is screen noise but I don't know if it intensifies under all those other effects. Whatever, at least it's not like that all the time.

At least you have to appreciate the effort to be creative in some ways, although this is a bit of a gaming equivalent of an Oscar bait.
Kinda unique and hopefully it will stay that way.
 
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Ivan

Arcane
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Messages
7,471
Location
California
Backtracking and pixel hunting aside (which in retrospect felt like ~10% of my time playing), this was a phenomenal experience that doubles down on theme and character. This goes without saying that if you're not interested in narrative driven games, avoid this at all costs. The combat is simplistic and won't keep you coming back for more. That being said, I found this to be incredibly moving, chock-full of moments that will stay with me that range from horrific to sublime. It's pretty incredible just how much quality content is packed within this 6-7 hour package. I don't think I've played anything as focused and confident with its themes and characters since Torment or Mask of the Betrayer.

Random Thoughts:
-the animation work here is astounding
-voice acting/performances are top notch
-the audio on the whole is amazing

Highly Recommended
 

Turbo normie

Scholar
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
195
Location
Sigil
After watching an LP, I expected a reveal at the end of the game that the protagonist was a modern person locked up in an asylum and the whole Norse world was just a schizophrenic delusion, which didn't happen. Also, speaking of the Norse theme, how could the protagonist be Celtic if lore of the game is exclusively Nordic?

Dude... The whole story is a psychotic delusion. Wtf ?

The whole game is her way to process the loss of her lover and to fight the guilt. She actually traveled to the north but the rest is all in her head.
She's a pict into scandinavia because her tribes has been wiped out by a viking raid during her bannishment. And an ex-slave told her a lot about norsemen and their myths. Her lover was the warchief's son so he has been exectued with the bloodeagle rite it meant for her a sacrifice to Hel so she decided to get back his soul. Because that's her crazy way to denie his death.

Mental disorder + emotional trauma = Free ticket to helheim.
 
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Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
5,869
It's the most insufferable pretentious garbage I've ever had the misfortune of 'playing'. These fuckers' overblown sense of self-importance is actually palpable.
 

Regvard

Arcane
Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Messages
1,070
Location
Gormenghast
Abandoned somehwere around half way through. I think appreciation hinges on whether you find the pscyhosis aspect interesting or not. I just didn't.

FOV and mudfilter is fixable, IIRC.
 

Walden

Savant
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
289
So the Headline for this game should be "even more edgy and pretentious than DMC"?
Nah, it didn't sound so pretentious to me. Knowing how well they implemented some visual/sound features from dsm, it's such a pity that combat is absolute garbage, even with the purpose of the devs in mind, and puzzles so weak and redundant. But the story is good, and some narrative expediencies are very entertaining.
If you're seeking some action or can't stand some flaws(even by the genre), you should avoid at all costs.
But it was a very pleasant surprise to me.
 
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
66
Look, the gaming media (and gamers for that matter) is desperate for video games to be considered important and legitimate and real art by everyone. At the same time they're not very good art critics. So you get these instant 10/10 for games like this, it's like people saying "See? See? Games aren't just time wasters!" and then they go right back to Call of Duty or Skyrim without even having understood Hellblade (but hey, that automatically means it's smart).

At least it's not as offensive as when they praise Morrowind 6: Retard Edition as the pinnacle of gaming. It's kinda cute actually, it's like children pretending to be grown ups.
 
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Silva

Arcane
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
4,778
Location
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Amazingly powerful and emotional experience. I actually cried when she remembered the first time she met her lover in the flowered field. And the way it tackles the mental condition is clever and respectful. Mandatory game.

Between Senua, Soma, Automata and The Last Guardian/Trico, I've come to change my opinion on these story-driven type of games. I used t hate it but now I think it's a valid use of the medium when it's well executed and explore meaningful themes or ideas.
 
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